


Too Sexy for This Song

by miraculousstorytelling



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien being ridiculous, Adrien watches too much anime, F/M, Fluff, Song Wars, Soulmate AU, lots of singing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-11 16:23:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7899715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraculousstorytelling/pseuds/miraculousstorytelling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where every time a song is stuck in someone's head, it's because their soulmate is singing it, Marinette finds herself stuck with a soulmate whose taste in music is a little more...ridiculous than others.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written because ladyserendipitous is basically the best and most prolific muse ever.

"Fighting evil by the moonlight..."

Marinette grimaced as she found herself singing along to the song in her head. Her soulmate was singing it again. After the fifteenth time, she finally looked it up and learned her first fact about her soulmate. He was a Sailor Moon fan.

Well, the second thing. She'd known since she the first day she heard him that her soulmate couldn't sing.

Still, she couldn't complain, because she'd grown used to the sound of it popping up in her mind at the most random times. She didn't often reciprocate, but sometimes when he got stuck on a song, she'd retaliate with her showstopper.

"Every night in my dreams... I see you... I feel you..."

The song in her head abruptly stopped, and Marinette snickered.

 

The first time she'd heard a song in her head, Marinette was confused and frightened. Her parents hadn't explained it to her beforehand, and when it happened she ran to them, crying.

"It's okay," her mother assured her, "It's just your soulmate singing."

"Soulmate?" Marinette had asked, confused and still frightened.

"The person you're meant to be with. The person you'll love for the rest of your life," Sabine had explained patiently.

"Like you and papa?" Marinette had asked, wide-eyed.

"Just like that."

"What's his name?" she'd insisted, "I want to find him."

Sabine had laughed, "You have to be patient, Marinette. You'll find him soon enough."

"But, why can't I find him now? I can just sing and tell him my name, right?"

Tom had joined in then, shaking his head, "It doesn't work that way. The bond isn't so you can find each other."

Marinette had frowned, frustrated, "What's it for, then?"

"So you know the other person is there. So you can learn a little about them by what they listen to. So you can talk to them," Sabine had explained.

"So, I'll know what they sound like, right?" Marinette had smiled as she asked.

"Not exactly. Like I said, it isn't supposed to help you find them," Tom had answered with a kind smile of his own, "We don't completely understand it, but..." He had pulled out his phone then and instructed, "Marinette, sing something."

She had eagerly done so, singing her favorite song of the moment, "Twinkle, twinkle little star..." When she had finished with a bright grin, Tom had stopped the recording and played it for her. She'd laughed, "I sound funny."

"That's how you sound to your father and me," Sabine had answered, "Our voices sound different because of how the vibrations of sounds work. Inside, we hear the vibrations in a different way than we hear outside sounds."

"What does this have to do with my soulmate?" Marinette had asked, impatient and focused as ever.

"Your soulmate hears you the way you do," Tom had said then, "So, your soulmate hears you in a way no one else does. They hear you exactly the way you do."

 

That night, as she reflected on those pleasant memories, Marinette stared up at the stars and smiled. Even without any other kind of bond, some nights, she just knew that her soulmate needed to hear her, and tonight was one of those nights. She closed her eyes and sang quietly, "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream..."

As she sang, his voice joined hers, and she grinned. Their impromptu duet continued until his voice drifted off, and she could imagine that he fell asleep to the sound of her voice. Even if she'd never met him before, the thought that she could still affect him from this distance sent a pleasant warmth through her chest.

Someday, she'd be able to do more than just sing and hear his voice occasionally. Eventually, they would meet and recognize each other, and they could actually talk and share more than just the latest pop hits and theme songs to anime she'd never even heard of before him.

For now, she simply hummed to herself, imagining and hoping as she pictured what someday might look like.

 

Marinette was in a store, looking for the perfect fabric to complete her latest creation, when she heard it. At first, she glanced up at the store's speakers in confusion until it dawned on her that, no, the song was coming from her head.

"I'm too sexy for my shirt... Too sexy for my shirt... So sexy it hurts..."

Marinette nearly doubled over in laughter, clutching the nearest store fixture to keep her stable as she nearly fell to the ground. Other customers sent her odd looks, but she didn't care. This was perhaps the only song her soulmate could sing and not sound awful, and _of course_ he had to know she could hear it. He even seemed to relish the chorus, a goofy growl filling his voice as he sang about being a model.

She had tears in her eyes as she finally gave in and sat on the floor, barely managing to breathe between giggles. He finished the song, and Marinette was tempted to applaud, but she knew he wouldn't hear it, and she already looked foolish enough. She finally stood and brushed herself off, still wiping away the remains of her tears. This boy was going to be the death of her.

 

Marinette grinned, waiting until she was sure her parents would be distracted by the mid-morning rush. She didn't exactly want them to hear this, because knowing them, she'd never live it down. She grinned and even tugged out her hairbrush for effect. "I come home in the morning light, my mother says when you gonna live your life right?" She belted the song, dancing along as she sang the chorus, "That's all they really waaaant. Some fuuuuun!"

She giggled halfway through, struggling to take this as seriously as he must have taken his song the other day. She bit back her own laughter and continue to sing, determined to get through this. If he was going to embarrass her, hopefully she could at least return the favor. As she nearly shouted the last line, she laughed and threw her hands in the air, celebrating her small victory. She tried to imagine him fighting his own laughter somewhere else, and the thought brought a smile to her lips.

Someday, they'd tell stories about this at their wedding, she reminded herself. Someday, she'd kiss the ridiculous boy that serenaded her with Sailor Moon. Someday, she'd be able to actually talk to him and learn his name. Someday...

 

Marinette was in the middle of a huge math test when she heard it. She'd stayed up all night studying, despite hearing bits and pieces of video game themes from her soulmate into the late hours of the night. She was determined to do well on this exam.

"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down..."

She was going to kill him. She was absolutely going to track this boy down and slaughter him.

"Never gonna run around and desert you..."

She tried to focus on the math test staring up at her, but her soulmate's annoyingly loud voice kept drawing her focus away from reading the questions. She snorted as he sang. Clearly, he was doing his best to sound as ridiculous as humanly possible. Her teacher sent her a sharp look, and Marinette cleared her throat to cover a giggle.

It was no use, because this boy had a special talent for goofiness, and by the end of the song, she had dissolved into mostly silent laughter. The teacher reprimanded her, but Marinette could barely manage a straight face now. She finished the test, and incredibly after her soulmate's bad joke masquerading as a song, her nerves had left the building along with her dignity. The rest of the exam was a breeze.

 

Marinette asked her friends and parents for suggestions, hoping for a truly terrible song she could use as payback. Ultimately, a quick glance through annoying songs on YouTube yielded the perfect answer.

This time, she waited until right before school. If she was lucky, she'd catch him while he was actually walking to school or maybe in class waiting for the teacher to arrive. She had enough time to dash to class after she planted the seed.

"What is love?" she sang softly, "Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more..."

She sang a few more lines, checking the clock and smiling. If she was _very_ lucky, she started his morning off with a mildly embarrassing bout of laughter. Either way, she ran to school with an extra jump in her step. Her mother laughed as Marinette raced past her.

She could almost imagine him clutching his sides and breathlessly explaining to his friends why he couldn't stop laughing. She smiled at the thought being a part of his day somehow, even if she couldn't quite see the effects of it.

Marinette briefly wondered if her soulmate would find a way to retaliate.

 

She didn't have to wait that long. She was halfway through class when she heard him again, this time singing in a shockingly bad falsetto, "Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, so call me maybe..."

Her teacher sent her to the principal's office, and Marinette couldn't quite bring herself to care. Chloe teased her as she left, but Marinette could hardly hear her over her soulmate's absolutely ridiculous song. He seemed to have a knack for making everything overdramatic when it came to bad pop songs. It was one more thing she adored about him already. Part of her wondered why he wasn't in class and how he could occasionally sing to her in the middle of the morning.

Once she explained that her soulmate was distracting her, the principal let her off with a warning, but he did remind her that she was still expected to behave properly in class. She nodded and smiled, thanking him for understanding. Once she was back in the hall, Marinette was already snickering again. How in the world could she top that?

As it turned out, that was surprisingly simple. After all, tomorrow was Friday, and Alix had just sent her a simultaneously terrible and relevant video link.

 

"It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday..." Marinette sang, hushed as she tried her best not to wake anyone while exacting her revenge. It was just after midnight. Barely Friday, and she was going to start out her beloved soulmate's day in the best possible way.

He started singing, trying to block out the sound, but she was relentless, finishing the song in spite of his attempts to block her out. Maybe he'd finally back down now that he knew how far she was willing to go to win their silly song war.

Marinette felt oddly triumphant as she laid down to go to sleep. She might not have gotten him back for being sent to the principal, but making him wake up to that particular song was almost enough to make up for it.

She was nearly asleep when she heard his voice in her mind, "It's Friday, Friday..."

She groaned in frustration. He was _singing it back_.

 

Their song war ended with that, although occasionally, he would revert back to a few lines of "I'm Too Sexy" which honestly made her wonder about his taste in music. Each day, he sang her a little something, sometimes waking her up with a popular hit, while others he'd sing soft romantic ballads for lunch, and still others he'd sing anime openings or bits of songs from video games in the afternoons.

Finally, Marinette had enough. She spent all day singing Jagged Stone and other songs she loved. Normally, she let him fill her mind with music, but that day, she turned the tables.

"I wanna hold your hand..." she sang softly as she worked on her homework. "I wanna hold your hand..."

She sang lullabies from her childhood, songs he might recognize from years ago, and some of her guilty pleasures from her younger years, "Ohhhh, caught in a bad romance... Ra ra raaa..." She giggled a little as she sang along, the lyrics fresh in her mind despite not having heard the song in years.

She sang her parents' favorite songs, the ones that always made her smile, interspersed with familiar Disney songs, "Flower, gleam and glow... Let your power shine..."

He'd undoubtedly recognize some of it from her occasional bouts of singing along to the radio throughout the years. In fact, he hummed along to a few pieces. It was fun, in a way, almost a timeline of her tastes throughout her life.

As she was nearly drifting off to sleep, a soft song filled her mind, a lullaby he'd sometimes sing to her at night. He hadn't sung it in years, and as he sang, his voice was thick with emotion. Tears filled her eyes, and she wished with everything in her that she could find him and hold him. Clearly, this song was important to him, and clearly it was laden with memories she hoped to hear from him someday.

The bond between then was infuriating at times. She knew him in some ways, but she _couldn't_ know him in others yet. While the knowledge that she could hear him in a way no one else could was heartwarming, in moments like these, she almost would have traded it for the ability to hold him and comfort him in person. Instead, she had to be patient. Her parents assured her that she'd know him when she met him, but Marinette hated waiting. She wanted action, to go out and find him. She wanted to be more than just a voice in his mind, and she promised both him and herself that someday she would be.

 

He had piano lessons today, Marinette knew by now. He was humming a piece that she recognized. Something by Chopin, though she couldn't remember the name. One day she'd hear it in person, but for now she smiled as she sewed, enjoying the music as she worked.

It paused, and she wondered if he was done for the day. She'd hoped for a little more of his voice. It was comforting and pleasant, and hearing it made her day a little brighter.

To her delight, he started to sing, "Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars..." Then, a pause and he started over. This happened a few times, and she assumed he must have been practicing the accompaniment for the song. Not that she minded. She had a soft spot for Sinatra, and she hummed along as she continued sewing.

His voice seemed to lighten as he sang, and Marinette could almost imagine that hearing her brightened his day as well. Once she had finished her work, she held up the completed shirt and smiled. Someday, she'd be able to show him her work in person.

 

Day one of school, and Marinette couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach that always seemed to show up around this time of year. Maybe she'd finally meet him. Even with the awkward start to the day, dropping most of her macarons, Chloe being her usual terrible self, Marinette couldn't complain. She might not have met her soulmate, but she certainly met a friend. Alya

Of course, the supervillain certainly changed things. And that was only the beginning. Because that was the day Marinette became a superhero.

Her soulmate had frighteningly impeccable timing. While she was transforming, he was singing Sailor Moon. And then, ridiculous as he was, as she was staring at her new outfit in absolute shock, he was singing, "I'm too sexy for my shirt..."

He thankfully fell silent in time for her to soar off on her yo-yo, and naturally she collided with a leather-clad hero in midair. And of course this had to be her partner, because as soon as he opened his mouth, he was already flirtatious and silly, and seconds later, they were both off to stop a stone villain.

Somehow, they did it. They managed to take Stoneheart down and actually save Paris. She really was a hero. Her soulmate sang Sailor Moon through the afternoon, and she was content to simply listen, wondering if he'd been inspired by her image on the news earlier. Today really was turning out to be wonderful.

Then, she saw the press conference, and she knew. She wasn't cut out for this. This was a mistake. Doing this was a mistake. Tikki had been wrong.

She tugged out her earrings and slipped them into the jewelry box with a conflicted frown. Her soulmate was quiet, and she briefly wondered if he was as disappointed in her as she felt in herself. Day one, and she was already making a mess of things. Alya would be better at this.

 

Of course, she hadn't counted on Alya being trapped while Cat Noir was being carried off, kicking and shouting. She hadn't counted on being the only one who could protect them both. She certainly hadn't expected to save Chloe from ending up as a stain on the pavement.

Nor had she expected to face down Hawkmoth in front of all of Paris, but then nothing seemed to be going as planned today. The new boy had turned out to be just as much of a jerk as she might expect from someone who was friends with Chloe. School had been disrupted for the second day in a row. Her partner was just as absurd and flirty as he'd been yesterday.

On the other hand, _she'd stood up to Hawkmoth_. She'd saved Ivan and Mylene. She'd assured all of Paris, and she and her partner had actually saved the day. Even if everything was complicated now, and she missed the sound of her soulmate in her mind, overall today had been wonderful.

 

The next day, however, somehow managed to top all of it. After school, she'd been trapped in the rain. The new boy, Adrien, she reminded herself with a frown, tried to greet her, but she frankly had no interest in befriending someone who'd play such a cruel prank on a stranger.

Until he started speaking, and suddenly what he was saying made sense. She couldn't look away. How in the world had she missed how gorgeous he was? His soft green eyes were captivating, and she found herself staring at him when he offered her his umbrella. She tentatively reached out and took it, and her heart promptly stuttered to a brief halt.

It was him.

The umbrella closed in on her, and they both laughed. She could hardly breathe, and she simply watched as he walked to his limo, calling back to her, "See you tomorrow."

She couldn't quite muster up the courage to answer with more than a stammered, "See you tomo- tomorrow. Whoa, I'm stuttering."

Tikki emerged with a smile, "I think I might know why."

Marinette looked down at her with a grin, "Tikki, he's my soulmate. I know it." She watched his car drive off, and she blushed again, "I can't believe it's finally him."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien finds that his soulmate has some quirks of her own.

The first time Adrien heard her, he was instantly fascinated. He knew all about the unique voice connection between soulmates after watching his parents use it so often. Father would be at work late, and Mother would sing silly songs until he came down to dinner. Mother would be frustrated by something, and then she'd suddenly relax and listen to his father's soothing voice in her mind.

The first song Adrien heard from his soulmate was simple. "Frère Jacques..." she'd sung in the middle of the afternoon one day. At first, the sound startled him, but when he understood what it was, he was thrilled beyond words. He'd wondered and wondered might be the best song to sing to her. After all, he wanted the first song she heard from him to be important. Now that she'd reached out, of course, he couldn't resist the urge to return the favor. Besides, after hearing her sing, he knew exactly which song to pick.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..." he'd softly sung back to her, smiling as he imagined her somewhere listening to him.

Seconds later, she was singing back, "Twinkle, twinkle little star..."

He was thrilled. Considering his only friend was the daughter of one of his parents' friends, another connection was amazing. And this girl had such a sweet voice. He was sure he had the best soulmate ever.

 

She might just be the best soulmate ever, but her taste in music was...interesting. She mostly stuck to older songs, but the occasional radio hit or Disney song snuck in. He recognized about half of what she sang. That was when she _did_ sing. He seemed to do most of the communicating in their relationship. Whatever this relationship was. In fact, he sang to her all the time: lullabies, theme songs from whatever he happened to be watching at the moment, songs his mother taught him, songs he was learning in piano, and even songs from the games he played.

Sometimes he'd annoy her just so he could hear her for a little bit. He quickly found certain songs irritated her more than others based on how long it took her to sing something back in an attempt to drown him out. He hadn't heard from her for nearly a week now, and it took fifteen rounds of the Sailor Moon theme song for her to finally sing back the infamously annoying song from Titanic.

He laughed and left her alone after that. It was enough just to hear her after such a long silence, and prodding her into singing anything at all felt like a victory.

And if that was a victory, that night was his prize, because she must have known he was feeling a little lonely. Somehow she always seemed to sense it, and tonight, she sang Sleeping Beauty to him. He happily joined in, singing right along with her and enjoying how they sounded together. Undoubtedly, she was the better singer, but he loved the fact that he could share the moment with her somehow. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine she was there.

It made everything else seem less...well, less overwhelming.

 

Logically, he knew she couldn't know what today was for him. His soulmate had no idea that this was the anniversary of the last day he'd seen his mother.

Still, as he stared longingly at one of the last pictures they'd taken together, he heard his soulmate singing to him. She must have been preoccupied, because she slipped between singing and humming, "La seine, la seine, la seine..." He relaxed and closed his eyes as he listened.

He recognized it from a movie he'd watched not too long ago. She must have watched it, too, and he filed that knowledge away in his ever-growing list of things he knew about his soulmate. While it never seemed like enough, he was always thrilled by every new bit of information.

As she finished the first song, she slipped into different one. This one was a recent popular hit from the radio, and she sang it softly, "So wake me up when it's all over, when I'm wiser and I'm older..."

Adrien recognized it from overhearing it in his dressing room a few times. He was grateful for his soulmate's voice, even if he still wished she was actually there.

 

A week later, and Adrien found himself once again alone and unoccupied. His schedule was clear, and Chloe was busy shopping, so Adrien did the best thing he could think of. He dressed up and danced in front of his mirror as he sang, "I'm too sexy for my shirt..."

He sang into his empty fist, happily pouring his heart into the song and making it as ridiculous as possible. He imagined his soulmate was somewhere laughing to herself as she listened in. He almost laughed at himself a few times as he looked in the mirror.

Sure, he actually was a model, but right now, he looked like any other thirteen-year-old, jumping around and posing in an exaggerated manner in front of his mirror. Maybe if she was here, she'd pose and sing along with him. Maybe she'd laugh and tease him.

Adrien briefly wondered, as he sang the last line, would she retaliate somehow? She hadn't tried to sing over him, which was unusual. If he was lucky, maybe he'd hear back from her later.

 

As it turned out, his luck came two days later in the middle of a Chinese lesson. His soulmate started singing about girls wanting to have fun, and he'd never quite heard her sing like that before.

He was laughing, obviously offending his poor teacher, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't stop. His soulmate was belting this ridiculous song as loud as she could, and every time he tried to focus, he ended up giggling instead.

"Adrien," Nathalie snapped at him, "What is going on?"

"I'm sorry," he answered, still biting back laughter, "It's my soulmate. She's singing something..."

"Your father will be disappointed to hear you're distracted so easily," she warned softly.

Adrien straightened, his expression quickly turning serious, "I apologize."

Nathalie nodded, seemingly appeased, "Let's try once more."

He did pay attention after that, but he was secretly listening in delight as his soulmate sang to him. He could almost imagine her doing the same thing he did, dressed in some ridiculous costume while she sang her heart out into a hairbrush or her hand, maybe even posing in front of her own mirror.

When she finished singing, he was simultaneously relieved and disappointed. On the one hand, he could focus now, but on the other, he already missed hearing her. Then, he smiled, a hint of mischief in his eyes. If she was going to fight back, then this meant a song war he had every intention of winning.

 

It didn't take long to find the perfect candidate. Sure, it was an older song, but she liked older songs, he thought to himself. Besides the fact that he appreciated the message, the song itself was sure to make her smile.

"We're no strangers to love. You know the rules and so do I," he sang with a grin. As usual, he took every opportunity to make the song sound as absurd as possible.

It was mid-morning, so maybe he'd caught her during class, assuming she went to school. It would serve her right for interrupting his Chinese lesson, he thought with a smile. Maybe she was laughing and receiving a brief scolding of her own.

"Never gonna give you up! Never gonna let you down..."

And, sure, he was happy to make the song cheesy and ridiculous, but in his heart, he knew he actually _meant_ it. One day, he'd be able to tell her that. He'd look her in the eye and promise to love her and protect her. For now, however, he dramatically posed and grinned at his own reflection as he sang his heart out.

He chuckled as he finished the song and returned to his homework. Either way, he was glad to have sung back to her.

 

"What is love? Baby don't hurt me..."

Adrien stiffened, schooling his expression into an impassive model stare. This couldn't be happening in the middle of an enormous photo shoot. His father would be furious if he made a mistake.

"What is love?"

She kept going, and Adrien gracefully posed with a hand over his mouth to cover how his lips trembled with the effort to contain his laughter. He was torn between anger and delight, because she was deliberately ruining his morning in the most wonderful way possible.

"Don't hurt me no more."

She finally stopped, and Adrien could breathe again at last. He sent a genuine smile to the photographer, and later his father commented that it was one of his best shoots yet. Adrien beamed with pride even as he plotted a way to pay her back. He found a song that fit the bill easily, and once he arrived home, he rushed to his room to sing it.

"Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number..." He beamed, "So, call me maybe."

He deliberately sang it as high as he could manage, only hoping that it would make her laugh even harder than before. Adrien drew on every ridiculous tool in his repertoire to make this performance one she'd remember. And even he was ready to dissolve into a lengthy fit of giggles by the end of it.

Maybe she was in the middle of something important, too, seeing as she'd managed to interrupt his work. A small, petty part of him hoped so, since he'd struggled so much not to react to her earlier. A larger, more sensible, part of him hoped she wasn't, because he wanted her to enjoy their shared song war.

 

Clearly, she had been in the middle of something, however, because the way she fought back was brutal. Rebecca Black shouldn't be used as a weapon between two people who loved each other. Particularly not at midnight.

Still, he couldn't fault her too much for it. Even with her choice of song, her voice was always a pleasant surprise. Once she finished, he was quiet. Truly, he had to admit defeat with that one.

"It's Friday, Friday..." he sang idly, staring up at his ceiling.

She may have won, but he'd still pay her back in some small way.

 

He didn't follow up with their song war, but he did continue singing to her whenever he had a spare moment, often finding himself in front of his mirror singing, "I'm too sexy for my shirt..." and laughing every time. Adrien was all too easily amused.

Apparently, however, his soulmate was not. After a few weeks of this, she seemed to decide it was time to give him an education. She sang to him nearly all day, weaving together songs he recognized and others he didn't.

He scrambled to write down the words to the new songs, and he hummed along to the ones he knew. Most of them were new, and he wondered why she hadn't sung some of them before.

Still, it was a window into her world, and he was almost giddy. She drew from all over the musical map, including a fair amount of Jagged Stone. That was hardly a surprise, given that she'd sung along to him before.

Adrien was amazed by the end of the day, and it was by far the best gift she could have given him. It was almost as though she knew it was his birthday and had celebrated it in her own way.

He ended the day looking at a picture of his mother on his phone, a bittersweet smile on his lips. "Foxes sleep in the forest..." he sang softly, "Lions sleep in their dens..." Tears filled his eyes as he remembered the sound of his mother's voice singing this melody to him as a child.

He missed her so much, and today was harder than most, because she'd been the one to truly celebrate his birthday. He wished he could tell his soulmate, so someone besides Chloe could understand. Sometimes, he hated this bond that kept her just close enough to make him long for her, but he knew someday he'd love it the way his mother once did. Right now, it was enough to know she was somewhere listening.

 

A few days later, he was practicing his piano, humming along to his favorite Chopin piece as he played. His teacher had just left, which gave him some time to practice before his fencing lesson was scheduled to begin.

"Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars..." he sang softly, tentatively practicing the accompanying chords. He frowned, "No, that's not right..." He repositioned his hands on the keys, "Fly me to the..." He sighed, glaring at the note he always seemed to miss. "Fly me..."

Then, he heard the distant sound of humming. He grinned, mood instantly lightening when he heard his soulmate join in and hum with him. Somehow, just knowing she was listening made it easier to practice. He liked to imagine that she was the lucky charm he needed to finally get it right.

"Adrien, it's time for your fencing," Nathalie reminded him as she peered into the room.

He stood, "Sorry, lost track of time." After carefully putting away his books, Adrien hurried out of the room, still softly humming Frank Sinatra to himself.

 

This was it, he told himself, his heart racing. This was the day he'd actually make it to school. No more lessons with no one in the room but Nathalie. No more days filled with lessons and private tutors and modeling. Today would be the day everything changed.

In a way, Adrien was right, because everything did change that day. Not only did he receive superpowers, but he also met his soulmate, though he didn't realize it at first.

As soon as Plagg told him how to transform, Adrien eagerly leapt on the chance and shouted, "Plagg, claws out!" He hardly even noticed that his kwami protested about still having more to say. Instead, he sang Sailor Moon along to his very first transformation, because he couldn't _not_ sing Sailor Moon to a transformation sequence. Of course, when he finally caught a glimpse of himself, Adrien was forced to reconsider his choice of song.

He grinned, looking his outfit over and singing softly, "I'm too sexy for my shirt..." He caught sight of the baton that had accompanied his outfit and, after some fiddling around with the buttons, he managed to mostly figure it out. Adrien pried open a window and extended the baton as far as it would go, carefully balancing on it as he walked. He wanted to keep singing. In some small way, he wanted to communicate with his soulmate and let her know exactly what was going on, but he couldn't quite think of a song that would convey "Hey, I'm a superhero now, and I look really good."

Unfortunately, his silent focus was broken when a body collided with him in midair. It didn't take much for him to figure out she was his partner, and while she had her moment of doubt, in the end, she proved to be incredibly capable of the powers she'd been given.

After they defeated Stoneheart, he spent the rest of the afternoon singing Sailor Moon, because how else could he convey to his soulmate exactly what had happened to him that day? Should he even try? His kwami had insisted that Adrien needed to keep his identity secret.

He fell silent when he saw the news. They'd failed to capture the akuma, and now they had an even bigger problem on their hands. Guilt kept him quiet, because maybe if he'd paid attention to Plagg's instructions instead of simply barreling in, he might have been able to support her better. She'd forgotten, and he hadn't bothered to listen.

 

The next day, he managed to actually make it to school, but it wasn't quite the experience he'd been led to expect by Chloe. For one, he'd already managed to make two enemies due to a misunderstanding he wasn't quite sure how to correct. For two, apparently being friends with Chloe wasn't quite the social boost she'd led him to believe it would be. For three, roll call had been interrupted by the reappearance of the villain he'd beaten yesterday with Ladybug.

On the positive side, he made a friend, and he was able to make up for his mistake yesterday by encouraging his partner. In fact, he watched in awe as she looked Hawkmoth in the eye and stood up to him. Ladybug, he quickly realized, was a force to be reckoned with. He followed her lead and practically beamed with joy when she saved the day.

All at once, the realization crashed over him as she flew away.

This girl, whoever she was under the mask, was certainly his soulmate.

 

Thankfully, his next day of school nearly made up for the bad experiences of his first. Marinette was still angry with him, and he bore her anger as well he could. Maybe Nino was right and he should just try explaining it to her.

After school, he saw her standing outside, sighing at the rain, and he tried to greet her, but she simply turned away. Well, he certainly couldn't make things worse by listening to Nino's advice, and he turned to explain what really happened as clearly as he could. Maybe he should be more willing to listen to his friend, Adrien thought to himself, because as soon as the words left his lips, Marinette finally looked at him. He smiled at her, offering his umbrella.

She hesitantly took it from him, fingers briefly brushing over his, and he quietly watched as she stared straight into his eyes. He couldn't help but laugh when the umbrella popped closed and she peered out from beneath it, her own laugh bubbling out as they looked at each other again.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said as he ran off to his limo, barely registering the stammered response she sent his way.

A friend. He had another friend now. Two friends and a soulmate.

All in all, leaving the house must have been the best decision he'd ever made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also posted on tumblr under miraculousstorytelling.


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